Kah Kah Loke, Johor Bahru - Best bitter gourd soup

Add: 62, Jalan Bakawali 39, Taman Johor Jaya, Johor Bahru
Directions: Thanks to adelekang.blogspot.com
From Jln Pandan (CARREFOUR on left), pass the traffic light heading towards KOTA TINGGI OR DESARU. Go ahead (left is TELEKOM and right is a CEMETERY). You’ll see PRO-JET STATION on the other side of the road. Make a U-TURN from the left shoulder of the road . Turn left to the shop lot, nearby is the other gas station of Jln Bakawali 49. Kah Kah Loke is just located behind the front lot of shop (FEI KOH WANTAN MEE).


Thanks to KT for taking us for my first meal at JB :-) ever! Kah Kah Loke is a humble tai-chau that serves up some superb food ... All the below for only RM$35.

Tofu with minced meat ... Yummmmmmmy!


Excellent ... Stir Fried Fan Sui Yip (Tapioca leaf)


Hakka Char Yoke "fried pork" ... Best variant of this dish I have had so far!


L loved the omelette ... simple, and good!


The masterpiece ... Bitter Gourd soup! Only a hint of bitterness, the lean meat and sweet bitter gourd went perfectly with the soup.

The Club, Bandar Utama - Rare golfing photos of me!

A break from all the Singapore makan posts, I will put up some recent KL ones now!

A simple but fun little course, in the heart of Bandar Utama :-) Played there recently with TK and his friend D. Pity the greens were in really poor condition.

Lining up my drive on the 5th hole, a short Par 4


Bang...


Got the ball to stick on a 150+ metre Par 3, my ancient Taylor Made Rescue Mid got the job done. Pity I shaved the hole on my birdie putt ... My only PAR of the day!
ps - Check out the greens ... playable!?


I always love the elevated Par 3 seventh hole :-)

Nice drive :-)

Tong Heng Chinese Pastry Egg Tarts - South Bridge Road, Singapore

Add: 285 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058833
Tel: +65 6223 3649



streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/singapore
Located in Chinatown, South Bridge Road, Tong Heng Chinese confectionary has been around since the 1920s, are now known for their long history of their gorgeous pastries.
However, they do bake other kinds of Chinese pastry, and since Valentine's Day is around the corner, surprise your loved ones with the wife biscuit instead the normal rich dinners and flowers. Otherwise also known as, lao po bing in Mandarin it is a pastry in a form of the round and flat, light flaky crust.



Voted by many as being the SUPREME egg tart in Singapore, I think a shoot-out is in order with KL's finest aka Tong Kee Brothers (Kedai Kopi Lai Foong, Jalan Brunai Utara, Pudu, KL - Te: +603 2142 9958).

Pastry of Tong Heng's Egg Tarts were a wee bit firm for my liking, and the egg custard a trifle sweet. Shoot out... shoot out!!

Oso Ristorante - Bukit Pasoh, Singapore

Add: 46 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 6327 8378
Opening hours: Mon-Fri @ 12pm - 2.30pm, 6.30pm - 10.30pm , Sat: 6.30pm - 10.30pm , closed on Sundays.

Hungrygowhere.com/Singapore
Oso is located in a 2 storey shop house along Bukit Pasoh Road, at the end nearer to New Bridge Road. The first floor is the Cigar Room where guests can linger for some drinks and to puff their favourite cigars. The main dining area is on the second floor. There's a choice of dining in the comforts of the main dining area, or at the Balcony, where there's full view of the street downstairs. No air conditioning here though. Oso provides private dining for various sizes to cater for the special occasion.


Starters weren't particularly impressive, except for the Cold Cuts Parma Ham. Looked deeeelicious! Parma ham “prosciutto” 18 months served with rock melon - SGD$38


My Foie gras starter, which was good, but not spectacular!


200 Gr. Roasted beef tenderloin “filetto” with sabayon, asparagus and shaved truffle - SGD$48 ... LT loved this, and would recommend it prepared "blue" (Yes, raw-er then rare!)


8 hours oven baked lamb rack “agnello” with black onions and green beans - SGD$34 ... WM's choice, really enjoyable with its melt-in-mouth texture.


Other mains we chose include the pesto pasta, which was a wee bit too rich!


Slowly braised veal shank “Ossobuco” with lemon gremolata and potato puree - SGD$34 ... My choice. Again, really delicious especially the MARROW which Sumo thought me to enjoy. However, the serving was hardly generous I reckon!


A good choice by LT, an Argentinian red.


The signature Chocolate Tart "Crostata" with Milk Ice Cream was well enjoyed! Forget the cheesecake, it was rather forgettable. LT chose the "strong" cheese platter, hmmm...


I wasn't particularly impressed by the waiting staff, but the maitre'd and the chef were pleasant! At SGD$110 per person, this was definitely not a cheap meal. There were hits and misses, but overall, this is a good restaurant.

Adidas Classic Stan Smith II - Miss Piggy Limited Edition

Shoe: Adidas Classic Stan Smith II
Special edition: Womens Stan Smith II P4 - Miss Piggy (diva / white / bloom)
Stock: 465574
Limited run: 25,000 pairs made

First pair of Adidas shoes I have seen with no tri-stripes! This very special pair belongs to LT, lucky gal :-)


I love the sole! Check out the transparent Miss Piggy!


Who's Stan Smith?
Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946 in Pasadena, California) is a former American tennis player who, with his partner Bob Lutz, was one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world. Smith also won many singles titles, including the Wimbledon championship once and the US Open championship once. In 1972, he was the year-ending World No. 1 singles player.
Adidas approached Smith in 1971 to endorse the Adidas Stan Smith tennis shoe.

Muffin at home

Muffin wearing a cute bandana could only mean one thing ... She has just been groomed :-)


I like belly rubs...

Awfully Chocolate, Vivocity - Singapore

Add: 1 Harbourfront Walk @ #01-156 VivoCity Singapore
Tel: +65 6410 9725
Opening hours: 10:00am - 10:30pm

Deeeeeeeeeeeeelicious :-)

Any flavour .... as long as it's CHOCOLATE!

ps. Best of all was the service, the 2 gals behind the counter were friendly, polite and fun!

National Geographic Store - VivoCity, Singapore

Location: VivoCity, Singapore @ 1st Floor, shop no. 19-20

It's here, the much hyped about 2nd National Geographic Store worldwide ... in Singapore.

press.nationalgeographic.com
Dec. 12, 2008 - National Geographic and Barcelona-based Worldwide Retail Store SL have chosen Singapore as the site of the Society's first flagship store in Asia. Opening on Sunday, Dec. 14, the store in Singapore's Vivo City will be National Geographic's second global experiential space, following the launch of its store in London last month.

One of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations, National Geographic has a rich 120-year heritage of inspiring people to care about the planet through its media offerings, education and research programs. The Asian store will bring together the Society's exclusive products and services in a constantly evolving, highly immersive and culturally inspired setting. The store will be geared toward amateur explorers, travel enthusiasts, adventure seekers and environmentalists -- a rapidly growing segment of Singapore's population, as shown by a recent study that indicated a nearly 10 percent increase in overseas travel among Singaporeans from 2006 to 2007.

The Singapore store opening builds on the success of National Geographic's strong subscriber base for its media products, with National Geographic Channel available in more than 56 million homes in Asia Pacific and more than 100,000 readers of its magazines in Singapore.

Located at Vivo City, Singapore's largest shopping mall in the vibrant HarbourFront precinct, the new National Geographic store is designed to appeal to Singaporeans' taste for adventure and diverse cultures. More than a traditional retail environment, the 1,500-square- metre (16,146-square-foot) store will feature a retail marketplace, exhibition space and unique "experience zones" for multisensory activities designed to stimulate, educate and inspire visitors. The exhibition hall will display a rotating showcase of curated exhibits, inspired by content from National Geographic's international channels, magazines and mission-oriented projects. The marketplace will feature a wide selection of National Geographic media products featuring its award-winning content as well as newly created branded merchandise and sustainable, unique, hand-crafted items sourced from global artisans.

The store will feature items produced, sourced or selected by National Geographic. Key product lines include National Geographic's Rugged Basic, International Traveler and Explorer Gear clothing lines and accessories; casual and expedition-style footwear; a full range of optics, from eyewear and binoculars to telescopes and cameras; journals, calendars and other stationery products; maps, atlases and guidebooks; watches; home furnishings and dėcor, with a special emphasis on reclaimed wood pieces; and a wide selection of children's products.

My favourite photo amongst the 100s of gorgeous photos at the Store, was from a National Geographic magazine published in 1985. The Afghan girl ... Sharbat Gula, and the photographer was Steve McCurry.

National Geographic News
Updated March 7, 2003

This story was first published a year ago, in March 2002, when the National Geographic Society announced that the "Afghan Girl" had been found.A National Geographic EXPLORER documentary airing in the United States on Sunday, March 9, 2003, tells the whole story, including an interview with Sharbat Gula.
She was one of the world's most famous faces, yet no one knew who she was. Her image appeared on the front of magazines and books, posters, lapel pins, and even rugs, but she didn't know it. Now, after searching for 17 years, National Geographic has once again found the Afghan girl with the haunting green eyes.

The mysterious Afghan girl whose direct gaze has intrigued the West for so long is Sharbat Gula. She lives in a remote region of Afghanistan with her husband and three daughters.
Sharbat was located nearly two decades after her picture appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985. She had no idea her face had become an icon, said Steve McCurry, the photographer who made the famous portrait for National Geographic in 1984, and who tried to find her again during many subsequent trips he made to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
McCurry's photo of the girl was selected as the cover of National Geographic 100 Best Pictures.

VivoCity - Largest shopping mall in Singapore

This was my first visit to Singapore's VivoCity, and I was impressed by the affordability and range of shops in this mall.



Wikipedia... VivoCity is the largest shopping mall in Singapore, located at the HarbourFront precinct . Opened on 7 October 2006, it marked the completion of the main structure by a topping-out ceremony on 18 April 2006 and was officially opened on 1 December 2006. Derived from the word vivacity, VivoCity, according to Mapletree Chairman Edmund Cheng, "evokes a lifestyle experience that is modern, stimulating and accessible to everyone, a place bubbling with energy and flowing with vitality". At the end of the first week of operations, the mall had received nearly a million visitors.



Location: HarbourFront, Singapore
Opening date: 7 October 2006 (operational) / 1 December 2006 (official)
Developer: Mapletree Investments
Management: CapitaLand Retail
Owner: Mapletree Investments
No. of stores and services: 335
No. of anchor tenants: 3 (Golden Village, Dairy Farm Group, Tangs Department Store)
Total retail floor area: 1.04 million square feet (96,600 square metres) (Net Lettable Area); 1.5 million square feet (139,350 square metres) (Gross Floor Area)
Parking: 2,179 parking lots



Interesting news from Countdown 2007
VivoCity served as the official venue for the live televised countdown to the new year, instead of Sentosa as per previous years. The countdown concert, held from 31 December 2006 to 1 January 2007, was held at the rooftop amphitheatre and included performances by various well-known homegrown artistes from MediaCorp Channel 5 and 8, as well as the Top 11 finalists of the 2nd season for Singapore Idol.


I was very impressed with the view of Sentosa one bright sunny afternoon ...